OliviaKucan

MelissaCochran
HumanitiesPeriod1
August7,2014
IntelligentEnoughToKnowTheDifference
Beingsmartisoverratedandhighlymisinterpreted.Weactuallydontthinkaboutit
muchandoften,wejustassumethatyouareeithersmartorstupid.Whenpeopleare
consideredsmart,theyareabletoholdandprocesstonsofinformation,spittingitoutwhen
needbe.Theirbrainisswirlingfullofscientificnamesofplantsandanimals,mathformulas
andcurrentevents.Theytypicallyexcel,uptoapoint,ineveryaveragesubjecttheystudy.
Beingsmartisessentiallyjustalotofmemorizationandfollowingtherulesandstickingto
whatyouknow.Basically,ifIamnotabletomemorizeandreverberateinformation,youre
stupid.Withthatsaid,Iamnotsmart.
IalwaysthoughtthatIwasprettysmart.Upuntilthirdgrade,thatis.Itstartedafew
daysafterthedaytheyintroducedthemultiplicationtable.Itwasabigreveal:aposterwith
eachofournamesneatlywrittenbyMrs.Gentryinalphabeticalorderwithnumbersonthe
verytop,justreadyforittobefilledoutaseachpersonindividuallycompletedand
memorizedthenextnumberset.Iwasdetermined.Iwasgoingtoflythroughthemso
easily,andIwouldbethestarstudentinmultiplication.Wehadworkedwithsimple
multiplication(butonlythetwos)previously,soIthoughtitcantbethatmuchharder.Boy
wasIwrong.Itwasquitethediscouragementwheneveryonewasontheireightsandnines
Iwasstuckonsixes.IjustcouldntfigureoutwhatIwasdoingwrongandwhyIcouldnt
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memorizethemasfastaseveryoneelse.ThatwaswhenIrealizedIwasstupid.Itwas
gettingworsewhenImadeittothefifthgradeandcouldntinstantlyspitoutthecapitalof
Maineorwhatthemitochondriaspurposewas.Iwasconstantlycomparingmyselfto
othersandthinkingIwasincompetent.Peoplereallyonlycareaboutwhetherimsmartor
not.AndifIhappentofalloutsideoftheseguidelines,Iwouldbeconsidered,byany
standards,stupid,simpleasthat.Imaynotbeconsideredsmartbynormalstandards,but
Idsay,imdefinitelyintelligent.
Intelligenceissomethingasidefromsmartness,thatitishighlyunderratedand
lookedpast.Peopletendtogroupsmartnessandintelligenceasthesamething,when,as
amatteroffact,theycouldntbemoredifferent.Asopposedtomemorizinginformation,
intelligenceisbeingabletoprocesstheinformationgiventoyou,andusingabstractideas
andapplyingthem.Intelligentpeoplehaveabetterunderstandingoftheworldaroundthem
anduseittothebestoftheirability.Theyareuniqueandcreativeandquick.Intelligence
makesonedigintothedeeperpartsoftheirbrainandallowsmorethoughtfromthe
individual.
BecauseIcantmemorizemathstepsandIstilldontknowwhatthescientificname
forredtailedhawkis,thatdoesntmakemestupid,butIamnotsmart.Theessential
differenceisthatsmartnessmeasuresknowledge,andintelligencemeasurestheabilityto
understandabstractideas.Justbecausesomeonemaynotfallwithintheguidelinesof
beingsmartdoesntmeantheyarent.

WritingRubric
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WritingTraits Feedback
Ideas:Thispaperisclearandfocused.Itholdsthereaders
attention.Relevantanecdotesanddetailsenrichthecentral
theme.
Thetopicisnarrowandmanageable
Relevant,telling,qualitydetailsgobeyondthe
obvious
Ideasarecrystalclearandsupportedwithdetails
Writingfromknowledgeorexperienceideasarefresh
andoriginal
Readersquestionsareanticipatedandanswered
Insightfultopic
Loveyourbeliefandopening.Itwasvery
engagingtoread.
Organization:Theorganizationalstructureofthispaper
enhancesandshowcasesthecentralideaorthemeofthepaper
includesacatchyintroductionandasatisfyingconclusion.
Aninvitingintroductiondrawsthereaderina
satisfyingconclusionleadersthereaderwithasense
ofclosureandresolution.
Thoughtfultransitionsconnectideas.
Sequencingislogicalandeffective.
Thetitleisoriginal.
Organizationalstructureisappropriateforpurposeand
audienceparagraphingiseffective.
Excellentandnicetitle
Voice:Thewriterofthispaperspeaksdirectlytothereaderina
mannerthatisindividual,compelling,engaging,andshows
respectfortheaudience.
Usestopic,details,andlanguagetostronglyconnect
withtheaudience.
Purposeisreflectedbycontent&arrangementof
ideas
Expositoryorpersuasivereflectsunderstandingand
commitmenttotopic.
Narrativewritingishonest,personal,andengaging.

WordChoice:Wordsconveytheintendedmessageina
precise,interesting,andnaturalway.
Imagery,activeverbs,strikingandthoughtful
vocabulary
Stayin1stperson
Seemycommentsaboutwordchoice
SentenceFluency:Thewritinghasaneasyflow,rhythmand
cadence.Sentencesarewellconstructed
Sentencesenhancemeaningandvaryinlengthand
structure.Writinghascadence(rhythm).

Conventions:Thewriterdemonstratesagoodgraspofstandard
writingconventions(e.g.,spelling,punctuation,capitalization,
grammarusage,paragraphing).

Commausage
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